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October 11, 2024

In Golf, Age is Just a Number

By Vinnie Manginelli, PGA

Y.E Yang – Photo by Jeff Curry/Getty Images

Bernhard Langer – Photo by Chris Keane/Getty Images

Did you happen to catch the Ascension Charity Classic on the PGA Tour Champions in last month? 2009 PGA Champion Y.E. Yang defeated European great Bernhard Langer in a playoff to win the title. Established in 1980, the Senior PGA Tour (now PGA Tour Champions) has given the world’s greatest golfers a forum to display their skills and maintain their competitiveness after the age of 50. Yang at age 52 prevented Langer from winning his 47th senior circuit championship. Langer is 67 years old.

More locally and on a smaller scale, the Woodstock Open is the longest-running golf tournament that includes professionals and amateurs and has been played at the same golf course. It’s been held in the quaint Hudson Valley, New York town of the same name since 1932. In this summer’s event at Woodstock Golf Club, 56-year-old Metropolitan PGA Section Professional Dave Fusco, the PGA of America General Manager at Osiris Country Club in Walden, New York, captured his first overall title after having won the senior division championship before. Fusco, who posted a 66 for the victory, has enjoyed competing in the Woodstock Open for 34 years.

“This tournament means a great deal to our club,” says Chris Sanger, Woodstock’s PGA of America Head Golf Professional. “Every year, we look forward to showcasing our course to some of the best players in our area, and we do our best to challenge them on a course that only plays 5,500 yards. That shows what a good test the course is to the best professional and amateur golfers in the area.”

Joey Manginelli – Photo by Rick Remsnyder/Daily Freeman

Chris Sanger, PGA

Sanger says they get a high level of competition each year, and as such, anyone in the field can come out on top. Having played the course before, I know the course offers opportunities for many different types of games to succeed. And with the solid purse the golfers are playing for, many players want to get into the Woodstock Open.

Dave is a great player,” Sanger continued, “and has been playing in this event for many years. I’m happy to see him win this event. He’s a great champion and adds to our list of impressive champions.”

The runner-up to Fusco for the overall title and the low amateur in the event was a young man who is near and dear to my heart, my son Joey. Joey’s 67 was tied for second with three professionals in the field. At 19, Joey was just in his second year of playing competitive golf, after playing travel baseball throughout his youth and teen years, never really showing interest in golf, despite his dad’s status as a PGA Member. Joey earned 11th place in the 2024 National Junior College Athletic Association DIII National Championship last spring and has shined in his first year at SUNY Delhi under the coaching guidance of Dave Arehart, PGA.

Having two sons who played many sports over the years, it’s fascinating to see how golf renders results like these two tournaments – a 52-year-old eking out a win over a 67-year-old and a 56-year-old putting down a 19-year-old college golfer.

As the Editorial Director of Golf Fitness Monthly, the monthly digital publication of the Golf Fitness Association of America, I speak to golf and fitness professionals every day who stress fitness, health and wellness to play better, longer and with less pain and injury. Is that the secret? Are the days of golfing nicknames like the Walrus and Lumpy a thing of the past?

Among the many impacts that Tiger Woods has had on our game, this might be the most important to the masses. Sure, professional purses are at record levels thanks to Mr. Woods, but to the everyday golfer who just loves to play, placing a focus on strength and flexibility and mobility and longevity will have a far greater impact on their lives.

In what other sport can a teenager and a 50-something-year-old equitably compete with or against each other? With the James father-son duo in Los Angeles and the Griffeys of the 1990s notwithstanding, it’s rarely seen. However, in golf, it’s commonplace.

They asked this year’s International Presidents Cup team how old they were when teammate Adam Scott played his first Presidents Cup in 2003. Ben An said he was 12. Min Woo Lee was five. Tom Kim was just one year old! Scott not only played in all five matches in this year’s event, but he contributed a couple of points to the International team’s efforts, losing 2&1 to one of today’s young great stars, Collin Morikawa in Sunday’s singles matches.

And don’t forget, before he left for LIV, Phil Mickelson won the PGA Championship at 50 and has never been more fit, having embarked on a vigorous speed-training regimen. It’s not a fad. As golfers age, they’re also seeing greater distance and overall success than in their younger years. As a fan, it’s exciting. As a dad, it’s inspiring. As a PGA of America Golf Professional, it’s promising. And as a writer, it gives me a whole new realm of golf content to offer.

It sounds cliche, but in golf, age really is just a number.